Food container

ABSTRACT

A sandwich container is disclosed comprising: a housing having a base, a rear wall, a top wall, and sidewalls, the housing being at least partially enclosed and defining an interior for containment of a sandwich, the housing defining a dispensing end of the sandwich container; a push tab, formed in one or both of the base and the rear wall of the housing, adapted to hinge from a base end of the push tab into the housing toward the dispensing end for manual advancement, in operation, of the sandwich from the rear wall towards the dispensing end. A food container is also disclosed comprising: a housing having a base, a rear wall, a top wall, sidewalls, and a front flap, the housing being enclosed and defining an interior for containment of a food item, the front flap adapted to enclose a dispensing end defined by the housing; a push tab, formed in one or both of the base and rear wall of the housing, adapted to hinge from a base end of the push tab into the housing toward the dispensing end for manual advancement, in operation, of the food item from the rear wall towards the dispensing end in order to contact and open the front flap.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document relates to food containers.

BACKGROUND

Conventional food containers for food items such as burgers have a lid or flap for a user to manually flip open to access the food item. A user may then entirely remove the food item from the container for consumption. In some cases a user may also manually pull out a portion of the food item, and then consume the portion while holding the rest of the food item in the container.

SUMMARY

A sandwich container is disclosed comprising: a housing having a base, a rear wall, a top wall, and sidewalls, the housing being at least partially enclosed and defining an interior for containment of a sandwich, the housing defining a dispensing end of the sandwich container; a push tab, formed in one or both of the base and the rear wall of the housing, adapted to hinge from a base end of the push tab into the housing toward the dispensing end for manual advancement, in operation, of the sandwich from the rear wall towards the dispensing end.

A food container is also disclosed comprising: a housing having a base, a rear wall, a top wall, sidewalls, and a front flap, the housing being enclosed and defining an interior for containment of a food item, the front flap adapted to enclose a dispensing end defined by the housing; a push tab, formed in one or both of the base and rear wall of the housing, adapted to hinge from a base end of the push tab into the housing toward the dispensing end for manual advancement, in operation, of the food item from the rear wall towards the dispensing end in order to contact and open the front flap.

These and other aspects of the device and method are set out in the claims, which are incorporated here by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, in which like reference characters denote like elements, by way of example, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a food container.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the food container of FIG. 1 with the front flap open.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the rear wall of the food container of FIG. 1 gripped by a user's fingers.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the food container of FIG. 1 gripped by a user's fingers with the front flap open to illustrate the interior of the food container.

FIGS. 5A-5E are side elevation views that illustrate the operation of the push flap in manually advancing a sandwich out of the food container.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of an embodiment of a push tab used with a food container.

FIG. 7 is a blank of material configured to construct the food container of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Immaterial modifications may be made to the embodiments described here without departing from what is covered by the claims.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a food container, for example a sandwich container 10, is illustrated comprising a housing 12 and a push tab 14. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, housing 12 has at least a base 16, a rear wall 18, a top wall 20, and sidewalls 22 and 24. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5A, housing 12 is at least partially enclosed and defines an interior 26 for containment of a food item, such as a sandwich 28 (shown in FIG. 5A). Referring to FIG. 5B, housing 12 also defines a dispensing end 30 of the food container 10. Food container 10 may be used for containing items of food, such as a sandwich, burger as shown, bagel, donut, panini sandwich, philly cheesesteak sandwich, wrap, submarine sandwich, quesadilla, and other suitable containable food items.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, push tab 14 is formed in one or both of the base 16 and the rear wall 18 of housing 12. Referring to FIG. 7, push tab 14 may be defined at least partially by perforated score lines 19 on the housing 12. Referring to FIGS. 5B-5E, push tab 14 is adapted to hinge from a base end 32 of the push tab 14 into the housing 12 toward the dispensing end 30 for manual advancement, in operation, of the food item from the rear wall 18 towards the dispensing end 30.

Referring to FIG. 5E, the push tab 14, in use, defines a tab stroke 34 within the housing. The tab stroke 34 may be broad enough to sweep the sandwich 28 entirely out of the container 10, for example if the tab stroke 34 extends to the dispensing end 30. Referring to FIG. 5B the tab 14 may initially contact a back end 36 of the sandwich 28, at a position that is above half the height of the sandwich 28 for example. In some cases the position is above half the height of the container 10, and may be even higher to ensure that the tab 14 contacts the sandwich 28 over a region that extends up to an upper portion or layer 40 of the sandwich 28. This acts to prevent the layers of the sandwich 28 from being skewed across one another.

Referring to FIG. 7, push tab 14 may have at least one fold spaced between base end 32 and an upper edge 46. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5B, for example push tab 14 may have a series of spaced parallel lateral folds, such as folds 42A, 42B, and 42C, which define an accordion-like series of surfaces, such as surfaces 44A, 44B, and 44C. The container 10 may have more or less folds and surfaces than those shown. Referring to FIG. 5B, an accordion-like series of surfaces such as is shown may allow the push tab 14 to hug the contour of the sandwich 28. Referring to FIG. 5D, the push tab 14 may have at least one push surface, such as surface 48 spaced from base end 32, for example adjacent upper edge 46, that is adapted to hinge backwards relative to the forward hinging of the push tab 14 at base end 32. This allows surface 48 to flatly contact the back end 36 of the sandwich through a range of different hinge angles 50 at base end 32 through the advancement. Referring to FIGS. 5C and 5D, as an example, surface 48 is illustrated at two different points along the tab stroke, flatly in contact with back end 36 of sandwich 28 in an upright position, which may be the most natural contact position for a sandwich of this type. This allows a user to apply a force vector 52 to the sandwich 28 in the direction of the desired advancement of the sandwich 28 out of the container 10. Base end 32 may be located at the junction between the base 16 and the rear wall 18. Referring to FIGS. 5A and 7, the push tab 14 may be formed in the base 16 and the rear wall 18 of the housing 12, for example as shown. The push tab 14 may be formed to at least one-third, for example at least one-half to full length, of the distance up the rear wall 18 of the housing 12 from the base end 32. In some embodiments, the base end 32 may be located on the rear wall 18. In other embodiments, the base end 32 is located at least one-third of the length of the base 16 from the rear wall 18. The base end 32 may hinge at the dispensing end 30 in some cases.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the push tab 14 is sized to fit the fingers 56 of a user's hand 58. Referring to FIG. 3, the push tab 14 may be at least 3 cm, for example 4-5 cm, wide to suitably fit two fingers. Push tab 14 may also have width 54 sized to fit at least three fingers 56. The push tab 14 may be at least 4 cm, for example 5-7 cm, wide to suitably fit three fingers. Sizing to fit the fingers allows the fingers 56 to operate the push tab 14 while a user's thumb 62 and at least one opposing finger, such as a user's fourth finger 56D, are free to grip the sidewalls 22 and 24 of container 10 for lateral stability. Thus, single-handed-use of container 10 is afforded. Referring to FIG. 4, another configuration is envisioned where thumb 62 and a user's third and fourth fingers 56C and 56D, respectively, are used to grip the container 10. At least one of the other two remaining fingers (not shown) may be used to operate the push tab 14. Other configurations are possible, including using one to four of fingers 56 to operate push tab 14. Push tab 14 may be provided with a width 54 sized to fit at least four or more fingers 56 as shown. The push tab 14 may be at least 5 cm, for example 7-9 cm, wide to suitably fit four fingers. Larger widths may be used. The width of tab 14 may be selected to correspond with the majority of expected widths of the fingers of a predicted consumer, for example a child or adult. Referring to FIG. 6, by providing a push tab 14 with a lateral width 54 suitable for protecting the fingers 56 from directly contacting the food item, push tab 14 forms a hygienic barrier. To improve this function, the width 54 of the push tab 14 may be sized at least 0.5 cm, for example 1-5 cm, larger than the width of the number of fingers 56 that the push tab 14 is sized for. In addition, this may be achieved by sizing the push tab 14 for more fingers than push tab 14 is intended to be operated with. The push tab 14 may have the width of at least three fingers 56. The width of the push tab 14 may also correspond with the width of a sandwich contained in the sandwich container 10. For example, the width of the push tab 14 may be at least half, for example at least three quarters, the width of the sandwich 28.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 12 may have a front flap 64. Referring to FIG. 2, front flap 64 may be adapted to close, for example enclose, the dispensing end 30 of the housing 12, and may be adapted to hinge downwardly in operation. The front flap 64 may be constructed as part of a front wall (not shown) of the container 10, for example if the flap 64 hinges downwardly from a hinge point located partially up the front wall. Referring to FIG. 4, the front flap 64 may comprise a perimeter lip, for example constructed of adjacent surfaces 66, 68, 70, 72, and 74, which collectively define a drip tray 76 when the front flap 64 is hinged downwardly in operation. Referring to FIG. 1, the perimeter lip may overlap the housing 12 when flap 64 is closed. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, either or both of flap 64 and housing 12 may comprise one or more edge cutout, such as corresponding edge cutouts 76 and 78 centered on the edges of surfaces 70 and top wall 18, respectively, in order to facilitate the opening of flap 64 from dispensing end 30. Edge cutouts 76 and 78 may overlap one another when the flap 64 is closed. Edge cutout 76 may be used as a finger hold for manually opening front flap 64. Referring to FIG. 4, sidewalls 22 and 24 may each be comprised of at least two angled surfaces, such as side surfaces 21A and 23A (sidewall 22) and side surfaces 21B and 23B (sidewall 24), adapted to flex inwardly under lateral gripping pressure in order to pop open the front flap 64.

Referring to FIG. 5B, push tab 14 may be adapted to advance sandwich 28 towards the dispensing end 30 in order to contact and open the front flap 64. This way, push tab 14 and front flap 64 cooperate together to allow a food item to be easily advanced and consumed using only a single hand. Referring to FIG. 5B, once front flap 64 has been contacted by the advancing sandwich 28, front flap 64 flips open, and may form the drip tray as discussed above.

Referring to FIG. 7, food container 10 may be constructed from a blank 82 of material. Blank 82 may have various features detailed into the construction of container 10, such as slots 84A, 86A and corresponding insert flaps 86A, 86B, respectively. In addition, various reinforcing flaps may be used to overlap and reinforce parts of the container 10, or to adhere adjacent surfaces together in a relatively angled conformation, for example using adhesive. For example, front flap 64 has reinforcing flaps 88A, 88B for adhering to a first front flap portion 92, and reinforcing flaps 90A, 90B for adhering to a second front flap portion 94 to give the angled conformation illustrated in FIG. 2. In a similar fashion, rear wall 18 may have reinforcing flaps 96A, 96B for adhering to a first rear wall portion 100, and reinforcing flaps 98A, 98B for adhering to a second rear wall portion 102. Flaps 96A, 96B, 98A, and 98B may help to form an overlapping lip of rear wall 18, the overlapping lip being formed of adjacent surfaces 104, 106, 108, 110, and 112.

It should be understood that container 10 may have any suitable configuration, for example, cylindrical, box, polyhedron, and other configurations. One or more of walls 18, 20, 22, 24, flap 64, base 16, and the front wall if present, may be comprised of two or more surfaces angled relative to one another, such as first rear wall portion 100 and second rear wall portion 102 in the case of rear wall 18 for example.

Housing 12 may be made from suitable material, such as one or more of cardboard, paperboard, construction paper, plastic, reinforced paper, and wax paper. Rigid materials may be used.

In the claims, the word “comprising” is used in its inclusive sense and does not exclude other elements being present. The indefinite article “a” before a claim feature does not exclude more than one of the feature being present. Each one of the individual features described here may be used in one or more embodiments and is not, by virtue only of being described here, to be construed as essential to all embodiments as defined by the claims. 

1. A sandwich container comprising: a housing having a base, a rear wall, a top wall, and sidewalls, the housing being at least partially enclosed and defining an interior for containment of a sandwich, the housing defining a dispensing end of the sandwich container; and a push tab, formed in one or both of the base and the rear wall of the housing, adapted to hinge from a base end of the push tab into the housing toward the dispensing end for manual advancement, in operation, of the sandwich from the rear wall towards the dispensing end.
 2. The sandwich container of claim 1 in which the push tab is sized to fit the fingers of a user's hand.
 3. The sandwich container of claim 2 in which a width of the push tab is sized to fit at least three fingers of a user's hand.
 4. The sandwich container of claim 3 in which the width of the push tab is sized to fit at least four fingers of a user's hand.
 5. The sandwich container of claim 2 in which a width of the push tab is at least half the width of a sandwich contained in the sandwich container.
 6. The sandwich container of claim 5 in which the width of the push tab is at least three quarters the width of the sandwich.
 7. The sandwich container of claim 1 in which the push tab is formed in the base and the rear wall of the housing.
 8. The sandwich container of claim 7 in which the push tab is formed to at least one-third of the distance up the rear wall of the housing from the base end.
 9. The sandwich container of claim 8 in which the push tab is formed to at least one-half of the distance up the rear wall of the housing from the base end.
 10. The sandwich container of claim 7 in which the base end is located at least one-third of the length of the base from the rear wall.
 11. The sandwich container of claim 1 in which, in use, the push tab is adapted to define a tab stroke within the housing that extends to the dispensing end.
 12. The sandwich container of claim 1 in which the push tab is defined at least partially by perforated score lines on the housing.
 13. The sandwich container of claim 1 in which the housing further comprises a front flap adapted to close the dispensing end of the housing.
 14. The sandwich container of claim 13 in which the front flap is adapted to hinge downwardly in operation.
 15. The sandwich container of claim 14 in which the front flap comprises a perimeter lip that defines a drip tray when the front flap is hinged downwardly in operation.
 16. The sandwich container of claim 14 in which each sidewalls comprises at least two angled surfaces adapted to inwardly flex under lateral gripping pressure.
 17. The sandwich container of claim 1 in which the sandwich container is adapted to contain a burger.
 18. A food container comprising: a housing having a base, a rear wall, a top wall, sidewalls, and a front flap, the housing being enclosed and defining an interior for containment of a food item, the front flap adapted to close a dispensing end defined by the housing; and a push tab, formed in one or both of the base and rear wall of the housing, adapted to hinge from a base end of the push tab into the housing toward the dispensing end for manual advancement, in operation, of the food item from the rear wall towards the dispensing end in order to contact and open the front flap.
 19. A blank of material configured to form the sandwich container of claim
 1. 